The TI Business Principles for Countering Bribery is a framework tool developed for the purpose of providing a starting point for businesses to develop their own anti-bribery programmes and benchmark existing ones. The global non-governmental organization Transparency International (TI) is the publisher of the Business Principles together with a multi-stakeholder Steering Commitee. The Principles are completely voluntary and outline what kind of processes and management systems companies should have to detect, prevent and sanction bribery in their organizations.[1][2]
The principles are one part of TI's set of tools aimed to "reduce the opportunities for corruption and enhance the ability of people and organisations to resist it". All of them have been created in cooperation with a large group of stakeholders, includingexperts from companies, universities and other NGOs. The Business Pinciples for Countering Bribery are part of the private sector tools.
First published in 2003 the Principles for Countering Bribery have been revised twice; once in 2009 and the second time in 2013. In the newest revision there's also an edition specifically for small and medium companies.[3] The TI Business Principles for Countering Bribery are very similar to the PACI Principles for Countering Bribery. There are some differences, for example they don't include a signatory participation.[4]
Content
In the latest version of 2013 the TI Business Principles defines bribery as follows:
"The offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of an advantage asan inducement for an action which is illegal or a breach of trust."
The Business Principles include a commitment on behalf of the company to a zero-tolerance for bribery and to form an anti-bribery programme. The Programme represents the enterprise’s anti-bribery efforts "including values, codes of conduct, detailed policies and procedures, risk management, internal and external communication, training and guidance, internal controls, oversight, monitoring and assurance."[5]
Purpose
Transparency International sees the Business Principless as a practical guide to the implementation of the specific obligations set to businesses by bribery laws like the US Foreign Corrupt Practises Act or voluntary initiatives such as the UN Global Compact. Reporting Guidance on the 10th Principle Against Corruption. The Business Principles are recommended by the United Nations Global Compact as a tool for implementation
of the 10th Principle against Corruption. The Business Principles is one of the ways in which Transparency International tries to reach it's main goal of freeing people of corruptive activities of organisations, governments and private individuals.[6]
Relation to Corporate Social Responsibility
The use and implementation of the Principles is completely voluntary, so it demands the company to take an active stance regarding the issue. Thus it fills the definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility. The businesses are voluntarily contributing to sustainable economic developement. Business Principles for Countering Bribery can be one part of a corporations CSR actions.[7]
The steering commitee
The Business Principles were developed in collaboration with a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee drawn from business, academia, trade unions and civil society. The commitee contributes and oversees to the developement of the Pinciples.[8]
Current members (as of June 2012):
Corporate members
BP plc
HSBC
Norsk Hydro ASA
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Sanlam
SGS
Shell International
Stora Enso
Non-corporate members
The Conference Board
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
International Federation of Consulting Engineers
International Federation of Inspection Agencies
Social Accountability International
Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX)
Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
Transparency International (Chair)
United Nations Global Compact
Chairman
Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director, Transparency International [9]
Critique
Transparency International argues that the Business Principles are a unique multi-stakeholder standard in the area of bribery and corruption because of the multi-stakeholder way they've been formed.[10] It is argued that multi-stakeholder initiatives are very important in combating bribery, since a real impact is made only when govenrments, corporations and civil society groups work together.[11]
Transparency International has been critiqued for being in too close connection with multinational companies to be credible. Working together with companies for the Business Principles for Countering Bribery can be also seen as something that decreases TI's reliability.[12] Another critique concerns the CSR aspect of the Business Principles. It is argued that CSR innitiatives such as anti-bribery principles are defined from a very narrow business point of view and that they are only implemented by corporations if those corporations profit from them. There is consern that CSR discourses promote corporate self-governace and diminish state supervision and so give more power to multinational corporations.[13]
Finland
The Finnish Chamber of Commerce uses the TI Business Principles for Countering Bribery. [14] For example the Finnish company Finnlines follows the Finnish Chamber of Commerce’s guidelines on principles of ethical business activity, and of anti-bribery which are part of Transparency International’s Business Principles for Countering Bribery 2003. [15]
Definition
Table of Contents
The TI Business Principles for Countering Bribery is a framework tool developed for the purpose of providing a starting point for businesses to develop their own anti-bribery programmes and benchmark existing ones. The global non-governmental organization Transparency International (TI) is the publisher of the Business Principles together with a multi-stakeholder Steering Commitee. The Principles are completely voluntary and outline what kind of processes and management systems companies should have to detect, prevent and sanction bribery in their organizations.[1][2]
The principles are one part of TI's set of tools aimed to "reduce the opportunities for corruption and enhance the ability of people and organisations to resist it". All of them have been created in cooperation with a large group of stakeholders, includingexperts from companies, universities and other NGOs. The Business Pinciples for Countering Bribery are part of the private sector tools.
First published in 2003 the Principles for Countering Bribery have been revised twice; once in 2009 and the second time in 2013. In the newest revision there's also an edition specifically for small and medium companies.[3] The TI Business Principles for Countering Bribery are very similar to the PACI Principles for Countering Bribery. There are some differences, for example they don't include a signatory participation.[4]
Content
In the latest version of 2013 the TI Business Principles defines bribery as follows:"The offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of an advantage as an inducement for an action which is illegal or a breach of trust."
The Business Principles include a commitment on behalf of the company to a zero-tolerance for bribery and to form an anti-bribery programme. The Programme represents the enterprise’s anti-bribery efforts "including values, codes of conduct, detailed policies and procedures, risk management, internal and external communication, training and guidance, internal controls, oversight, monitoring and assurance."[5]
Purpose
Transparency International sees the Business Principless as a practical guide to the implementation of the specific obligations set to businesses by bribery laws like the US Foreign Corrupt Practises Act or voluntary initiatives such as the UN Global Compact. Reporting Guidance on the 10th Principle Against Corruption. The Business Principles are recommended by the United Nations Global Compact as a tool for implementationof the 10th Principle against Corruption. The Business Principles is one of the ways in which Transparency International tries to reach it's main goal of freeing people of corruptive activities of organisations, governments and private individuals.[6]
Relation to Corporate Social Responsibility
The use and implementation of the Principles is completely voluntary, so it demands the company to take an active stance regarding the issue. Thus it fills the definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility. The businesses are voluntarily contributing to sustainable economic developement. Business Principles for Countering Bribery can be one part of a corporations CSR actions.[7]The steering commitee
The Business Principles were developed in collaboration with a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee drawn from business, academia, trade unions and civil society. The commitee contributes and oversees to the developement of the Pinciples.[8]Current members (as of June 2012):
Corporate members
- BP plc
- HSBC
- Norsk Hydro ASA
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Sanlam
- SGS
- Shell International
- Stora Enso
Non-corporate members- The Conference Board
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- International Federation of Consulting Engineers
- International Federation of Inspection Agencies
- Social Accountability International
- Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX)
- Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
- Transparency International (Chair)
- United Nations Global Compact
ChairmanCritique
Transparency International argues that the Business Principles are a unique multi-stakeholder standard in the area of bribery and corruption because of the multi-stakeholder way they've been formed.[10] It is argued that multi-stakeholder initiatives are very important in combating bribery, since a real impact is made only when govenrments, corporations and civil society groups work together.[11]
Transparency International has been critiqued for being in too close connection with multinational companies to be credible. Working together with companies for the Business Principles for Countering Bribery can be also seen as something that decreases TI's reliability.[12] Another critique concerns the CSR aspect of the Business Principles. It is argued that CSR innitiatives such as anti-bribery principles are defined from a very narrow business point of view and that they are only implemented by corporations if those corporations profit from them. There is consern that CSR discourses promote corporate self-governace and diminish state supervision and so give more power to multinational corporations.[13]
Finland
The Finnish Chamber of Commerce uses the TI Business Principles for Countering Bribery. [14] For example the Finnish company Finnlines follows the Finnish Chamber of Commerce’s guidelines on principles of ethical business activity, and of anti-bribery which are part of Transparency International’s Business Principles for Countering Bribery 2003. [15]T Bouchuiguir, M Pedersen, Global Agenda Council on Corruption, 2009, pp 12-50.
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/tools/business_principles_for_countering_bribery/
Volume 88, Issue 4 Supplement, pp 781-790.
http://www.epsu.org/IMG/pdf/Dave_hallcorruptionreportzagreb-2.pdf
http://crs.sagepub.com/content/34/1/51.full.pdf+html
http://kauppakamari.fi/hankkeet/julkaisut/lahjonnanvastaiset-periaatteet/
http://www.finnlines.com/yritys/hallinto_ja_ohjausjaerjestelmae/anti_corruption_and_anti_bribery_policy_statement